It’s 1784 and Nelson is sent to the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While there, he marries Franny Nisbet. Ordered next to the Mediterranean, he engages in a string of spectacular naval battles. The ravages of war take their physical toll on Nelson, even as he gains the fame and honour he craves. At the same time, Emma, mistress of Charles Greville, sits as an artist’s model. When Charles’ uncle, Sir William Hamilton, joins them in Naples, Emma finds herself the object of Hamilton’s desire. When the mercurial Nelson pays them a visit, she is inexplicably drawn to him. Her eventual marriage to Hamilton seems the epitome of good fortune – but how can she forget Nelson, when he has not forgotten her?
